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If your credit file shows something that isn’t right, such as an account you don’t recognise, a default with the wrong date, or a payment marked late when it wasn’t, you can ask the credit reference agency to investigate and correct it. You don’t need the lender’s permission to raise a dispute, and doing so doesn’t harm your score.
What counts as an error on your credit file?
Errors range from simple mix-ups to more serious problems. Common examples include:
- An account that isn’t yours, sometimes because of a similar name or address, or occasionally fraud
- A default or missed payment marker showing the wrong date
- A debt shown as still owed after you paid it in full
- The same debt appearing twice, often after it was sold to a debt collector
- Someone else’s financial association linked to your file in error
Genuine mistakes like these are different from information you simply disagree with because it reflects badly on you. A correctly recorded default that you’d rather wasn’t there isn’t an error, and a credit reference agency won’t remove accurate information just because it’s unhelpful.
Errors are more common than people expect, particularly around house moves, name changes, or when a debt has changed hands more than once. None of that means your file is unreliable overall, but it’s a reason to check properly rather than assume everything is accurate simply because it came from a lender.
How to check your credit file for errors first
Before raising anything, get your free statutory credit report from each of the three agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They don’t always hold identical information, since lenders don’t report to all three, so checking each one matters if you’re preparing for a remortgage application. Our guide on how to check your credit report for free sets out the process in more detail.
Read through each account carefully: the balance, the account opening date, any default or judgment date, and the payment history month by month. Errors are often small, such as a single wrong digit in a date or an account you closed years ago still shown as open, but they can still affect how a lender or adviser reads your file.
How to raise a dispute with the credit reference agency
- Contact the credit reference agency that holds the entry, not just the lender, since the agency is responsible for investigating it.
- Explain clearly what is wrong and why, with any evidence you have: statements, letters, or your own account history.
- The agency will usually contact the lender that reported the information and ask it to confirm or correct the entry.
- You’ll be told the outcome once the investigation finishes.
If the entry is confirmed wrong, it should be corrected or removed, and the change should then be visible when you or a lender next check that agency’s file. It’s sensible to put the dispute in writing, by email or through the agency’s online form, rather than only by phone, so you have a record of what you said and when.
Because Experian, Equifax and TransUnion hold their own separate files, an error on one doesn’t automatically get fixed on the others. If the same mistake appears more than once, you’ll usually need to raise a dispute with each agency involved, even though it feels repetitive.
What happens if the agency and the lender disagree with you
Not every dispute ends with the entry being removed. Sometimes the lender maintains the information is correct, even though you disagree. In that situation you have a few options.
| Route | What it does |
|---|---|
| Dispute with the credit reference agency | Investigates whether the entry is factually accurate |
| Notice of correction | Adds your explanation alongside accurate information you can’t get removed |
| Financial Ombudsman Service | Independent, free review once the lender’s own complaints process is exhausted |
| Legal advice | Rarely needed, usually only for serious, unresolved disputes |
A notice of correction is worth knowing about separately, since it doesn’t remove anything but lets you add a short statement explaining the circumstances. Our guide on what a notice of correction is covers how that works.
If the credit reference agency won’t correct it
If you’ve raised a dispute and the agency still won’t change the entry, you can complain to the lender directly through its formal complaints process, and if you’re not satisfied with the response, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge. Keep copies of everything you send and every reply you get, since a clear paper trail matters if the dispute takes a while to resolve.
It’s also worth checking whether an account might genuinely belong to someone else with a similar name, especially if you’ve moved house or share a name with a family member. A financial association from a joint account or a former partner can sometimes carry information that isn’t really about you. Our guide on what a financial association is explains how these links are created and removed.
What this means for remortgaging with adverse credit
If you’re planning to remortgage and your file shows something that looks worse than your real history, it’s worth raising a dispute before you apply rather than during the process, since corrections can take a few weeks to show. An adviser working with adverse credit will usually want to see your credit report early, so any genuine errors can be explained or corrected before a lender sees them.
Not every problem on a credit file is an error, though, and correcting genuine mistakes won’t change accurate history like a settled default or an old CCJ, which still needs to be considered honestly. If you’ve been declined before partly because of something you believe was wrong, checking and disputing it is a sensible first step before trying again.
It’s also worth timing this properly. Raising a dispute the week before you need a mortgage decision leaves little room if the investigation runs longer than expected, so build in a few weeks wherever you can. If you’re dealing with a CCJ or defaults alongside a genuine error elsewhere on your file, sorting the error first means an adviser is working from an accurate picture when they look at the rest of your history. Free, impartial help with credit file problems is available from MoneyHelper and National Debtline if the process feels overwhelming.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a credit file dispute take?
Credit reference agencies usually aim to investigate within around 28 days, though it can take longer if the lender that reported the entry is slow to respond, or if the dispute is complicated. You should get a written outcome once the investigation finishes.
Does raising a dispute affect my credit score?
No. Asking a credit reference agency to check an entry doesn't harm your score, since raising a dispute uses the agency's own investigation process rather than a credit search. Only the outcome, if an entry is corrected or removed, can change how your file reads to a lender afterwards, and that change is usually for the better.
What if the credit reference agency says the entry is correct?
You can complain to the lender directly, then escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you're still not satisfied. If the information is accurate but you want to add context, a notice of correction may be a better fit than a dispute. See our guide on what a notice of correction is.
Can I dispute a default just because I don't think it's fair?
A dispute is for information that is factually wrong, such as the wrong date, amount or account. If the information is accurate but you want to explain the circumstances, that's what a notice of correction is for, not a dispute.